The present invention is directed to a low cost data storage and communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to an universal and detachable low cost data storage adaptable to different communication protocols.
There have been continuous development in the universal and detachable storage and communication system having detachable cards such as memory cards. Each of these systems usually comprises a host and at least one detachable card connected to the host for providing additional storage to the system.
In general, these multicard systems are designed for use in a wide area of applications as electronic toys, organizers, PDAs, cameras, smart phones, digital recorders, pagers, etc. Targeted features are high mobility and high performance at low cost price. For example, extra storage can be added to any application systems (i.e. the host), or I/O interfaces can be provided for the host to communicate with other systems.
In some circumstances, the card can be pre-loaded with application software and/or data and then sold to consumers to be used with multicard systems. Specifically, the card can comprise EEPROM or FLASH memory so that software and data can be preloaded and changed by the Multi-Media Card host. The use of the card as a storage device is versatile that any database (e.g. dictionary, phone books, etc.) can be connected to the multicard system when needed.
There are currently various communication protocols defining the communication between the host and the cards. In most of the case, cards designed for one protocol cannot operate with another host running a different communication protocol. This incompatibility between different communication protocols creates tremendous inconvenience in design because of the need for the card designer to design different version of card for different protocols.
Therefore it is preferably to have one card manufactured for communicating in different protocols so that the same card can be used in different multicard systems.